Handwritten Candidate Works of Kyiv Theological Academy Students as Sources for Studying the Academy’s Philosophical Heritage

This article is devoted to determining the source potential of the so-called dissertations collection of the Kyiv Theological Academy (Fund no. 304 of the Manuscript Institute of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine) in the study of its philosophical heritage. The author draws attention to the distinction of the hierarchy of educational and academic degrees in the Russian Empire (candidate’s, master’s, doctoral) the first, candidate’s degree, not being a research degree, from today’s hierarchy. The candidate’s degree at that time was awarded to graduates of higher education institutions on the basis of their academic achievements and a final (candidate) work, which should be considered analogous to a diploma (qualification) work, not to dissertations intended for public defense for a PhD degree. The article reveals that the collection of candidate papers from the Manuscript Institute contains important sources for researchers of biographies of the graduates of the Kyiv Theological Academy (including many prominent individuals), its history, and academic heritage. Out of more than two thousand manuscripts stored in the Funds no. 304, the author has for the first time selected and systematized an array of candidate works on philosophical subjects (more than 100 units), substantiating their important role in the research of the philosophical heritage of the Kyiv Theological Academy